In my mind, without a doubt the worst decision in watchmaking history was the use of radium in dials and hands. Many people think they know how much they're being exposed, but do they really? Would you be surprised to learn that your guess could be off by 10, 100, or even 1000X?
Important things to note:
- The Geiger counter shown in this video has a particularly small tube sensor about the size of a cigarette. It does not detect alpha emissions which is the majority of radiation emanating from Radium
- A Geiger counter with a pancake style probe and a mica alpha window would show readings many times higher than what this counter will show both due to the larger surface area and the addition of alpha detection
- All readings and background radiation estimates here are relative to the counter shown in the video
- All radium emits radon gas as it decays and inhalation of radon gas is a serious health risk and is tied to increases in lung cancer
- I make no claim to know what is 'safe' and what is 'unsafe'. This video exists to point out that average exposure data is mostly useless when you have samples that vary in activity by 3 or 4 orders of magnitude.
